Valve



Dec. 25, 1951 l. PocKEL ETAL VALVE Filed June 25, 1946 A /Nms/vraes QV/N6 ocnrL Afro/@Veys- Patented Dec. 25, 1951 CFFICE VALVE Irving Pckel, Wellesley, Mass., and Donald P. Smith, Cincinnati, Ohio Application April 23, 1946, Serial No. 664.228

1 Claim. l

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government. for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a low pressure valve and more particularly to an outlet valve suitable for use on gas masks and other respiratory devices wherein leakage must be reduced to a minimum without lessening the efciency of operation under varied conditions.

One of the main objects of this invention is to provide a cover for protection oi the valve disc from mutilation.

Another object is to provide a cover for the valve disc, which will serve to define a dead air space. Which limits the back-leakage air to that which has just passed through the valve.

Still another object is to provide a cover, which will increase the air flow area on the eiiluent side of the valve.

The device described below can be used not only in valves of masks used by military personnel, but also on commercial gas masks where low leakage and low pressure valves are required.

With the above recited and other objects in view, reference is had to the following description and accompanying drawing in which there is exhibited one example or embodiment of the invention while the claim denes the actual scope of the same.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the valve with the cover in position,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of the assembly in line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the preferred form of the gas mask unit of this invention makes use of a rigid body or frame ID which serves as a support for a resilient cover I6 of suitable material, such as rubber. This cover is disposed in such a way as to restrict the eiluent gas and divert it towards the lower extension of the cover I6, shown at I 1.

The flexible valve disc I4 serves as the interrupter of the reverse flow of gas, and is of special construction hereinafter described.

On the eiuent side of the disc I4 an outlet opening I'I is located in the lower extension of cover I6 and somewhat beyond the periphery of the assembly. Thus a hereafter more fully described air space I8 is formed, the utility of which will be described hereinafter.

The rigid body or frame vI Il has a tubular extension or conduit I I through which the exhaled air is passed towards the spider support I2 having a circular peripheral ridge I3.

The valve disc I4 is molded of suitable material, such as rubber. It is provided with a button-like member I5, which is wedged in the center hole of the spider I2. The disc i4 rests on the circular ridge or bead which forms a seat ring I3 and is generally supported by the center button-like member I5. Th1s allows the iiexible portion of the disc to collapse slightly when back pressure is applied. This alternate collapsing and relaxing oi the disc lilin the cycle of breathing, causes a constant change in the angle of contact of the disc with the seat ring I3 imparting a wiping action of the disc against the seat which, together with the relatively swift passage of air over the same surfaces a1os in removing particles of dirt which would otherwise cause leakage.

In operation the cover I6 is stretched over the frame I0 and is partially held in place by a boss located on the top of the frame IIJ at 20.

The cover IB is generally circular and is equipped with an extended lower portion I9, serving as an exhaust. It is mounted in front and away from the valve I4 and the seat ring I3, so that the exhaust section I9 of the cover is at the greatest distance from the center of the valve disc I4. This design increases the air flow area on the eluent side of the valve disc, thus decreasing the hazard of back leakage of contaminated or polluted air through the valve disc during respiration.

A particular advantage of this construction is that it permits use of a valve cover considerably smaller than would be necessary if a cover which was concentric with the valve disc were used with the single exhaust opening.

The bead I3 constituting the ridge. which resembles the rounded end of a tube, is employed so that the valve disc I4 does not seat on the outer peripheral edges of the disc. This particular design makes it possible for the flexible valve disc to be pressed against the bead I3 in a manner which will break ice, which may have been formed on it.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings, it will be readily seen that we have provided a very compact, unique and useful low pressure air outlet valve unit which is particularly adapted for either entirely eliminating or at the very least minimizing the back leakage of toxic gases into the gas mask.

The problem of preventing such leakage in a compact unit adapted to be used with a gas mask has long been recognized by the Chemical Corps of the U. S. Army which fully appreciates the danger inherent in introduction of the toxic gases into the gas masks and particularly so, when these gases are, as the new nerve gases are, both extremely potent and practically odorless.

A means has heretofore been devised by the applicants for preventing this back leakage but it involves the use of a hood placed over both the gas Amask and the headoi the wearer and then loosely drawn and tightened or buckled about the neck of the wearer in such a manner as to permit but at the same time restrict the passage of the exhaled gas between the neck of the Wearer and the neck of the hood in such a manner that a slightly higher than atmospheric pressure is maintained within the hood to prevent the undesired back leakage. This gas mask hood however, has certain obvious disadvantages in that the wearer of the mask must use an additional set of transparent lenses or windows, upon which Y the moisture in the breathed air condenses and shaped frame I including a curved main bodyV portion 2|, two straight parallelly extending spaced apart leg portions 22, 23 and two integral oppositely positioned inwardly extending convergent arm portions` 24, `25 which are well adapted for detarding the flow of air in said unit between said main body and arm portions, a flexible shock resistant covering encircling said frame in a manner providing an exhaled air chamber 2B within said main body portion and a tubular exhaled air conduit having an air outlet I'I for directing exhaled air out of said valve unit, a tubular exhaled air inlet and a valve mounted in said frame between said chamber and air inlet including a flexible diaphragm I4 and a spider integral with said frame provided with a circular valve seat consisting of a circular rib having a shorter diameter than said diaphragm said diaphragm being adapted to move transversely over said rib and wipe the same during the inhalation phase.

In operation the valve disc I4 moves toward the cover I6 during the exhaling to permit the breathed-out /air toV escape against the cover I6 and be diverted towards the opening I1. During the inhaling the valve disc I4 is closed thus shutting offrthe entry of contaminated air. I-Iow-Y ever, between the exhaling and the inhaling steps the valve disc I4 is slightly open for a small fraction of a second, during which time a trace of contaminated air might enter the interior of the gas mask, thus causing gas casualties. However, with the cover I6 of this invention in place, even if there is a tendency of the valve Vdisc to leak slightly, the entry ofV the contaminated air is made impossible since it is blocked off by the exhaled air in the immediate vicinity ofY the valve disc by the cover IE of`this invention. That is, whatever'leakage occurs will be of ex- Vhaled air, rather than from the contaminated atmosphere surrounding the wearer.

We claim:

In combination, a gas mask exhalator valve including a valve member and a frame said frame being longer in length than in width and having a closed end portion and an oppositely positioned open end portion, a resilient shock resistant covering encircling said frame and forming, in combination with said frame an exhaled air conduit having an exhaled air outlet, a tubular exhaled air inlet operatively connected to the closed end portion ci the frame and extending at right angles to said exhaled air conduit; said valve member including an arcuate spider mounted in the closed end portion of said frame adjacent to the inner end of said exhaled air inlet and a recessed hub portion, and a peripheral portion operatively connected to said hub portion by spokes; said peripheral portion having an annular rib concentric with said hub, and a exibie disc flexibly secured at the center of said spider by an integral projection threaded through said huh portion and being larger in diameter than said rib and adapted by reason of its ilexibility and greater size to substantially overlap and wipe said rib 'during inhalation.

IRVING POCKEL. DONALD P. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file 'of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,312,714 Herbin Mar. 2, 1943 2,382,364 Yant ie Aug. 14, 1945 Y 2,465,973 Bulbulian Mar. 29, .1949

. FoREiGN PATENTS Number Country Date 558,395 HFrance of 1923 795,527 France of 1936 

